With the start of spring training right around the corner, fans of the Boston Red Sox have plenty to look forward to this season. The Red Sox train at JetBlue Park at Fenway South located in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Note: All start times Eastern and all “Home” games take place in Ft. Myers.

Mar 3, Northeastern at Boston Red Sox (SS), 2:35 p.m.

Mar 3, Boston College at Boston Red Sox (SS), 7:05 p.m.

Mar 4, Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 5, Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins (Ft. Myers, FL), 7:05 p.m.

Mar 6, Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 7, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 8, Boston Red Sox at St. Louis Cardinals (Jupiter, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 9, Pittsburgh Pirates at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.

Mar 10, Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.

Mar 11, Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Sarasota, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 12, Miami Marlins at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 13, Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (Tampa, FL), 7:05 p.m.

Mar 15, St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox, 2:35 p.m.

Mar 16, Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.

Mar 17, Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (SS), 1:35 p.m.

Mar 17, Boston Red Sox (SS) at Baltimore Orioles (Sarasota, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 18, Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays (Pt. Charlotte, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 19, Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 20, Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.

Mar 21, Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates (Bradenton, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 22, New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.

Mar 23, Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Sarasota, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 24, Philadelphia Phillies at Boston Red Sox (SS), 1:35 p.m.

Mar 24, Boston Red Sox (SS) at Miami Marlins (Jupiter, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 25, Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 26, Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies (Clearwater, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 27, Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 29, Toronto Blue Jays at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Mar 30, Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins (Ft. Myers, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Mar 31, Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays (Pt. Charlotte, FL), 1:05 p.m.

Apr 1, Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Apr 2, Washington Nationals at Boston Red Sox, 1:35 p.m.

Apr 3, Boston Red Sox at Washington Nationals (Washington, D.C.), 6:05 p.m.

Sources:

All data provided by MLB.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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The Boston Red Sox have officially signed 12 free agents, one of whom is former Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Silva to minor league deals. All of 12 have been invited to Spring Training as non-roster players. If he reaches the majors, Silva is projected to earn exactly $1,000,000.

The entire list of players includes pitchers Silva, Rich Hill (reported earlier), Brandon Duckworth, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Tony Pena Jr., Chorye Spoone, Jesse Carlson (reported earlier), Charlie Haeger, Justin Thomas as well as infielders Pedro Ciriaco and Nate Spears. While some of these names are recognizable, none are more so than Silva.

Silva, 32, has been in the big leagues since 2002 and has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies (2002-2003), Minnesota Twins (2004-2007), Seattle Mariners (2008-2009) and Chicago Cubs (2010). In 2011, Silva was released by the Cubs and signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, where he was 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA between double and triple A. He was later released because of some nagging health problems.

Silva’s major league track record is a respectable one, to say the least. In his nine seasons in the majors, Silva is 70-70 with a 4.68 ERA with over 1,200 innings pitched. Silva owns a staggeringly low 1.7 BB/9 rating for an innings eater. His best season came in 2004 with the Twins (14-8, 4.21 ERA), but his 2010 campaign was a close second (10-6 4.22 ERA). The Red Sox have been looking for low cost options to build depth in their pitching rotation, so this move was really right up their alley.

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The Boston Red Sox accelerated their efforts to find pitching at a bargain Tuesday, signing veteran right-hander Carlos Silva to a minor league contract.

Silva, 32, was among 12 players signed and invited to the major league camp as non-roster players. Ten are pitchers.

The list includes Rich Hill, who solved Boston’s left-handed relief problem last year until requiring Tommy John elbow surgery in June.

Hill, 31, has an ongoing streak of 15 straight scoreless outings dating back to September of 2010, when he joined the Red Sox.

Silva pitched in the Yankees’ organization last year. Between Double A and Triple A, he went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, but was released on July 2.

His major league average of 1.73 walks per nine innings is the lowest among active players with at least 750 innings. Silva had his best success with the Twins from 2004-07.

More recently, his control as a pitcher has not been matched by an ability to control his temperament.

After signing a four-year, $48 million deal with Seattle, Silva flopped went 5-18 with a 6.81 ERA in 2008-09.

In December of 2009, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Milton Bradley in a swap of underachieving players with fat contracts.

In 2010, Silva went 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA for the Cubs. Last spring, that modest comeback turned sour again.

In early March, Silva had a fight in the dugout with Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who had made an error with Silva on the mound.

Most of the blame was assigned to Silva, if only because Ramirez had never been known as a problem player.

When Silva became unhappy that his rotation spot was up for grabs, the Cubs released him. After he accused the Cubs of not being honest with him about his role, the club fired back.

Jim Hendry, the general manager at the time, said Silva was guilty of blaming others instead of himself. That may not provide an ideal backdrop for his signing with Boston, but the Red Sox are looking for help at the back end of their rotation.

They hope the 6-foot-4, 280-pound pitcher can rediscover his success with Minnesota, where Silva went 23-16 over 2004 and ’05.

Silva will earn up to $1 million if he makes the big league club.

Also signed to a Red Sox minor league contract was Brandon Duckworth, who pitched at Pawtucket last season.

Duckworth turns 36 on Jan. 23. Since 2001, he is 23-34 with a 5.28 ERA in 134 big league games, of which 84 were starts.

Right-hander Charlie Haeger, one of the few knuckleball pitchers in pro baseball, was signed. So were righties Doug Mathis, Will Inman, Chorye Spoone and Tony Pena, Jr., and lefties Jesse Carlson and Justin Thomas.

Haeger, 28, is 2-7 with a 6.40 ERA in 34 big league games.

Pena, 30, is the son of former Red Sox catcher Tony Pena. He played 327 big league games as an infielder (primarily at shortstop) from 2006-09.

A .228 career average led Pena to convert to pitching in 2009, when the San Francisco Giants assigned him to their Double A club.

He has not pitched in the majors since that switch. He did toss one perfect mopup inning for Kansas City in 2008, striking out Detroit’s Pudge Rodriguez.

Shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and utility infielder Nate Spears were signed. Ciriaco is 13-for-39 over 31 games since 2010, all with Pittsburgh.

Spears, 26, can play almost anywhere. In 2011, he made a favorable impression with the Red Sox in spring training.

He hit .248 for Pawtucket and appeared in three games for Boston.

When the Red Sox needed space on the 40-man roster for late season pickups Trever Miller and Joey Gathright, they released Spears in September.

Given his age and versatility, it is not surprising they are giving him another look.

Matt Garza still doesn’t have a contract, which means that the bidding war for the 28-year-old RHP is heating up. Since rumors started swirling about the Boston Red Sox’ apparent interest in the promising righty, Ben Cherington and company have acquired closer Andrew Bailey, filling in a major gap (more like a gaping hole) in the pitching staff. Despite the move, and ownership’s apparent miserliness, the Red Sox are reportedly still among the teams vying for Garza, and there’s good reason to believe they’ll come out on top.

It’s not exactly clear that Theo Epstein will let Garza go in the first place, though the longer Garza goes without a commitment, the more costly he becomes. With Theo’s ever-delayed compensation package yet to be decided, Garza would make for an interesting (and final) solution to an issue that’s been hanging over the heads of Cherington and ownership. Despite the addition of Bailey, there’s little doubt that any remaining offseason moves for the Red Sox would have to involve more shoring up of the pitching staff. Garza, one of the biggest names available, is an obvious target.

I think we can safely say that it’s no coincidence that the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are among the other teams reported to be interested in Garza. If an AL East club (namely the Red Sox) has a genuine need for the righty, it’s not hard to imagine that the Yankees and Blue Jays are merely trying to drive up the price and make Garza as expensive as possible for their mutual rival.

No matter how much Garza ends up getting, his track-record makes him look well worth the investment. The best thing about his six seasons in the majors might just be his reliability. Although Garza’s career got off with a 5.76 ERA and a 3-6 record, he’s gone on to below-4.00 ERA seasons ever since. This past season, he had a career-best 3.32 over the course of 198 innings pitched.

A sticking point might be the fact that, despite his solid ERA, Garza ended last season with a not-exactly-inspiring 10-10 record. Nevertheless, fellow Red Sox fans might remember Garza’s performance in the 2008 ALCS. He was 2-0 during that bitterly-fought series, burning the BoSox with a 1.38 ERA, enough to earn the ALCS MVP nod that year.

Taurus Londono has lived in Massachusetts for over ten years. He is a longtime fan of the Boston Red Sox.

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In an effort to address the team’s bullpen needs, the Boston Red Sox acquired all-star closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney from the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday for outfielder Josh Reddick and two minor league prospects. The move comes a week after the Red Sox attempted to obtain Bailey and pitcher Gio Gonzalez; with the Nationals getting Gonzalez in a separate deal.

The trade helps address the teams glaring pitching weakness, as all-time Red Sox saves leader Jonathan Papelbon departed for the Philadelphia Phillies. In a smaller deal earlier in the month, Boston traded minor league talent to the Houston Astros for late-inning reliever Mark Melancon. The expectation would be that if other deals could not be arranged during the off-season, the Red Sox would have at least one additional arm in the bullpen; one with prior closer experience.

The loss of Josh Reddick will be of little impact on the Red Sox, despite his .280 batting average. In the trade, the Sox also obtained a platoon outfielder in Ryan Sweeney who will compete with minor leaguers Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish both have previous major league experience with Boston.

Bailey arrives in Boston after serving as the A’s primary closer the past three seasons; compiling a 7-10 record and a 2.07 earned run average. The righty has saved 75 games during that span; with just nine blown saves. This past season, Bailey saw his earned run average climb to 3.24, but still maintained a respectable walks per innings pitched ratio of 1.10.

The acquisition of Bailey will come as a welcomed addition, as the Red Sox now have some pitching flexibility with three quality arms at the end of the bullpen; including Daniel Bard who may see his role changed to become a starting pitcher in 2012. In four career appearances in Fenway Park, Bailey has accounted for three saves and an earned run average of 7.20. Not exactly statistics that generate much optimism. From an optimist’s perspective, the new closer has garnered 15 saves in 15 opportunities against the eastern division’s primary competition (New York, Tampa, and Toronto). Which version of the closer will take the mound for Boston is still anyone’s guess.

With the addition of returning left-handed utility pitchers Alfredo Aceves and Andrew Miller, along with specialists Matt Albers and Bobby Jenks; Boston has some pitchers to work with. Aceves and Bard both have been identified by the team as possible candidates to fortify the starting rotation. Last season Aceves’ versatility made him one of the most valuable pitchers on the staff; compiling a 10-2 record with a 2.61 earned run average. The 30-year old right-hander also started four games for Boston last season; where he posted a 1-1 record over 21 innings pitched.

Bailey may bring some stability, but the level of remaining talent in the bullpen is untested at best. Last season’s free agent bust, Bobby Jenks figures to be part of the equation in 2012; but his performance was disappointing at best.

In order to maintain the fiscal responsibility promised by Red Sox management this winter, the team will likely look to the minor leagues for promising youngsters to help fortify the bullpen. Lefty relievers Felix Doubront and Junichi Tazawa will join right hander Michael Bowden as strong candidates to fill critical middle innings assignments.

Thus far, the Red Sox offseason moves have done little to change the lingering memories of last season’s September collapse. The impact of losing Papelbon will not be fully known until his replacements take the mound and prove their worth. Boston is unlikely to make any additional moves to address the closer role and their aggressive effort in obtaining Bailey demonstrates a high level of confidence that he will be able to perform as needed next season. For Red Sox Nation’s sake, I hope that he delivers as promised as well.

Scott Duhaime is a fan of the Boston Red Sox for over 30 years. His professional career includes a solid foundation of analytics that contributes to a better appreciation of player and team contributions.

Sources

Yahoo! Sports Article: A’s Trade Bailey, Sweeney to Red Sox

Yahoo! Sports Player Profiles: Andrew Bailey, Ryan Sweeney, Josh Reddick

Yahoo! Sports: Boston Red Sox Home Page

Yahoo! Sports: MLB Pitching Statistics

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By now, everybody in Red Sox Nation knows that Bobby Valentine hasn’t been able to get in touch with Carl Crawford. In fact, as of December 29^th, the two apparently have yet to exchange a single word, which doesn’t exactly boded well for the Boston Red Sox’ 2012 season. Valentine is at the helm, whether Crawford likes it or not, and his resounding silence while Bobby V calls out “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller” only makes Crawford look bad.

Maybe I should say that it makes him look “even worse,” since the last image fellow fans here in Massachusetts have of the much-hyped leftfielder was that horrific blown catch and his “oh well, too bad” attitude in the locker room afterward. Would it have been too much to see some faint hint of emotion, the slightest glimmer of frustration maybe? Oh, that’s right, Crawford is kicking back and enjoying a 7-year $142 million investment from former GM Theo Epstein and company, which I guess leaves him unaccountable enough to feel like he can blow off the new BoSox skipper.

To be sure, there’s undoubtedly some bad blood between Crawford and Bobby V, which is what happens when a commentator speaks candidly about the guys out on the diamond. Josh Beckett will likely be equally tough to win over. But despite Beckett’s involvement in the chicken-gate scandal, he’s still held in pretty high regard by most fans I know, and many don’t doubt that he can be the ace of the rotation once again.

Meanwhile, all Crawford has done so far is live up to his goofy “perfect storm” nickname, but in all the wrong ways. There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Red Sox’ September collapse, and it’s far from clear that they would’ve survived for long even if they’d made it to the postseason. Nevertheless, Crawford’s blown catch is a perfect symbol of just how that season unfolded. Like Crawford himself, the sky-high potential of that season plunged into the depths of outright embarrassment.

Which is exactly why it isn’t encouraging that Crawford has yet to return Bobby V’s calls. Maybe he doesn’t realize that while he may not owe anything to Valentine the man, he owes plenty to Valentine the Red Sox manager, and he should be bending over backwards to show Red Sox Nation that he’s more than just one of the biggest disappointments in the history of Boston sports.

Maybe he’s on his way to do just that, at least if you take Pedey’s word for it. Dustin Pedroia recently went to bat for Crawford in the figurative sense, saying that he’s “texted Carl a few times” and insisting that he’s “working his butt off” and “on a mission…to prove a lot of people wrong.” We can safely assume that Valentine is one of the people he’s trying to prove wrong. Nevertheless, one can only hope that Crawford eventually realizes that he’ll have to be working with him to do that.

Taurus Londono has lived in Massachusetts for over ten years. He is a longtime fan of the Boston Red Sox.

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